Pennsbury High School alum (1997) Ryan Newman’s experience at Penn State Smeal College of Business and Schreyer Honors College helped set him on a path to becoming a managing director with one of the world’s largest investment banks, Goldman Sachs.
Recently, he made a gift to help current and future Schreyer Scholars enjoy similar opportunities to carve out their own paths in the business world.
Ryan’s gift, including a partial corporate match from Goldman Sachs, totals $250,000 and endows three scholarships: two that are available exclusively to Schreyer Scholars in Penn State Smeal – named for a staff and faculty member in the college, respectively – and one that is open to Scholars from any discipline.
Two of the scholarships – the Robin L. Stevens Wall Street Boot Camp Honors Scholarship and the Associate Teaching Professor Gregory R. Pierce Scholarship – for Schreyer Scholars majoring in finance.
The third – the Newman Family Breakthrough Honors Scholarship – will go to a Scholar pursuing a major or minor with an entrepreneurial focus.
Stevens and Pierce played integral roles in Ryan’s successes as a Scholar, which led him to make the gifts that created the scholarships in their respective names.
“Robin and Greg exemplify a concept that I refer to as ‘radical generosity,’” said Ryan. “There comes a point where generosity extends beyond pragmatism and becomes truly radical. I was blessed to receive countless doses of generosity from both of them.”
Regarding the Breakthrough Scholarship, Ryan noted that he and his family are “eager to support Schreyer Scholars who want to identify and solve problems while making their communities and the world a better place” through entrepreneurship.
“All of us within Smeal are incredibly grateful for this gift from Ryan and his family,” said Charles H. Whiteman, dean of Smeal College of Business. “Support like theirs makes it possible for our students to continue to pursue experiences, both in and out of the classroom, that prepare them to succeed in their pursuits beyond Penn State.”
A 2001 Scholar alumnus, Ryan graduated from Penn State with a bachelor of science degree in economics and minored in philosophy.
He was among the first class of Scholars who entered the Honors College when it was founded in 1997.
Since beginning his career at Goldman Sachs, where he currently works as a managing director in asset and wealth management, he has received Penn State’s Alumni Achievement Award (2011) and was named an Alumni Fellow (2023).
“When Ryan was a Scholar, he received one of the first travel research thesis grants which allowed him to work at a United Nations-sponsored demography institute in Cameroon,” noted Patrick Mather, dean of Schreyer Honors College. “His philanthropic work will help ensure that current and future Scholars have access to the same types of transformative experiences, and we appreciate that deeply.”
PHOTO CAP: Ryan Newman